The Jakubowski family (clockwise from left), including Will, Max, Eric, Zachary, Izzie and Alexis Jakubowski, gathered for a private ceremony to honor their late wife and mother Joni Beaudry, who was killed last summer while riding her bicycle in a crosswalk. The ceremony was officiated by Pastor Christie Webb (right) at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect.

The Jakubowski family (clockwise from left), including Will, Max, Eric, Zachary, Izzie and Alexis Jakubowski, gathered for a private ceremony to honor their late wife and mother Joni Beaudry, who was killed last summer while riding her bicycle in a crosswalk. The ceremony was officiated by Pastor Christie Webb (right) at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect. (Eric P. Davis / Pioneer Press)

The husband of a Mount Prospect woman, who was killed last summer while riding her bike in a local crosswalk, soon will be headed back to Springfield to show support for a proposed law inspired by the fatal incident.

"The (bill) deals with increasing the punishment, which in the case of my wife's death, the judge opted to let the driver walk away with a $150 fine," said Eric Jakubowski.

Jakubowski's wife, Joni Beaudry, 55, was struck and killed by an SUV that failed to yield in a Mount Prospect crosswalk last June, leaving behind Jakubowski and their five children. He recently testified in front of Illinois lawmakers, urging support for the proposal, House Bill 625, before the bill easily cleared the Illinois House earlier this month.

As the bill heads to the Illinois Senate for consideration, the chief sponsor, Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, said the proposal would add penalties for drivers who fail to yield and stop, or cause serious injury or death, at a crosswalk marked by a yellow warning signal, called "Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon," which is also referred to as a RRFB.

If signed into law, the bill adds penalties of a Class C misdemeanor for failure to stop or yield, and a Class 4 felony for serious bodily harm or death, Harris said.

Once Harris' bill starts to move through the Illinois Senate, Jakubowski said he plans to speak with senators and again show support for the proposed law.

Eric P. Davis / Pioneer Press

Max Jakubowski hangs a memorial cross to honor his late mother, Joni Beaudry, who was killed last summer while riding her bicycle in a crosswalk, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect.

Max Jakubowski hangs a memorial cross to honor his late mother, Joni Beaudry, who was killed last summer while riding her bicycle in a crosswalk, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect. (Eric P. Davis / Pioneer Press)

The legislative activity comes after Jakubowski filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court in January, seeking more than $100,000 from the driver of the SUV involved in the fatal crash, Hanna Burzynska, of Elk Grove Village.

Before the crash on June 9, 2016, Beaudry had activated the warning signal at the crosswalk and then proceeded to ride her bike within the crosswalk at Central Road and Weller Lane, police have said.

Aside from the bill, Harris also wants to work with IDOT to address the limitations of the RRFB warning signals, which increasingly are becoming more common throughout the state, he said. When activated by pedestrians at crosswalks and certain sidewalks, the RRFB flashes yellow lights to warn nearby motorists to yield to pedestrians.

"The whole question I have for IDOT is about the RRFBs having yellow lights, which is confusing to drivers, who only think they need to stop at a red light," Harris said.

Harris said he believes that by swapping the yellow lights with red lights, crosswalks with RRFBs would be safer to navigate, but he noted that federal regulations prohibit IDOT from modifying RRFB devices.

"IDOT can't substitute the yellow light for red on its own, but I'm pushing the department for a waiver to the policy," Harris said.

The Mount Prospect family involved in Harris' bill also momentarily set aside the ongoing legal and legislative matters this past Easter weekend.

Jakubowski gathered his children, including his son Max, 22; twins Will and Alexis, both 20; and his two youngest children Izzie, 17, and Zachary, 15, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect on April 15 to erect a handmade cross in the church's great room honoring Beaudry.

"This beautiful cross is actually made from four separate crosses, which are all put together," Jakubowski said. "It reminds us that to get through tough times, we all need to lean on each other."